If ever there was a yardstick to measure the quality of
instruction, it's how students perform on national certification
exams.

The Surgical Technology program at Southeast Community College
has received the Merit Award from the National Board of Surgical
Technology and Surgical Assisting for achieving a 100-percent pass
rate on the certification exam. Data used for the award came
from exams taken between Aug. 1, 2014, and July 31, 2015. SCC's
program has earned this award the last four years.

"With the pass rates such as ours, it is a direct reflection of
the quality graduates SCC provides to the community," said Sharon
Rehn, program chair. "We are confident that a student who is
seeking a degree in Surgical Technology would struggle to find a
better group of educators in the field. Our employer
satisfaction surveys consistently reinforce the fact that our
graduates often exceed the expectations of their facility."

SCC's pass rate the last four years on the Certified Surgical
Technologist Examination:

2015: 100 percent (national rate is not in yet for 2015)

2014: 95 percent (national pass rate was 69.8 percent)

2013: 96 percent (national pass rate was 71.5 percent)

2012: 94 percent (national pass rate was 65.7 percent)

The CST is widely recognized in the health care community as the
foremost credential for surgical technologists in the nation.

Rehn said program faculty strive to engage students to enhance
their learning.

"Instructors are with the students in the clinical sites each
day," she said. "This close instruction has proven to be the best
way to provide vital feedback for each student to grow from and
stay in touch with the current trends within the
profession. The program has taken the extra steps to
incorporate engaged learning activities into the majority of the
classroom instruction. We have found that the more our
students are engaged, the better they understand and the more they
learn."

SCC's Surgical Technology program is located on the Lincoln
Campus. Persons wanting more information can go to the program's
website at www.southeast.edu/SurgicalTech.

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For more information contact:
Stu Osterthun
Administrative Director of Public Information and Marketing
402-323-3401
sosterthun@southeast.edu